Helping our clients achieve their goals, and then set new ones.

Bios Leadership

Kevin Doyle is the Vice President of State Affairs for HBW Resources. Kevin Doyle’s professional experience includes federal, state, local and international levels of government and politics having worked for U.S. Senators Mel Martinez and Connie Mack, the White House, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, the Florida House of Representatives and on political campaigns... More »

Mike has spent the past 12 years working in politics and government. Mike is the founder and managing partner of Grant Forbes, LLC a government relations and business development firm. Concurrently, he has served as Mid-Atlantic Executive Director for the Consumer Energy Alliance since 2013. During a recent campaign cycle, Mike served as the Finance... More »

Kristi joined HBW Resources in 2017 as the firms Research & Policy Manager. Kristi assists in several key energy campaigns to help promote the importance of energy production and development along with what continued research and expansion in various areas of the industry can do for the United States. Kristi is responsible for researching and... More »

Kaitlin Schmidtke serves as the Director of Campaign Activities for HBW. Through this role, Kaitlin is responsible for managing the organization’s campaign portfolio and day-to-day campaign operations. Prior to joining HBW, Kaitlin served as a Legislative Assistant in the Texas Senate working on various issues regarding Veteran Affairs and Natural Resources. Kaitlin has also worked... More »

Shane Waller is the Manager of Government Affairs and Policy at HBW Resources. Shane tracks Congressional activity relevant to client needs. He also assists with Congressional and Federal outreach. Prior to HBW Resources, Shane was obtaining his Master’s degree in Legislative Affairs from The George Washington University. During this time, Shane worked in both the... More »

Haldane Davies III joined HBW Resources as Policy Counsel. In this role, Haldane manages and coordinates HBW’s client issues with a specific focus on federal and state legislative policy positions through state outreach. Prior to HBW, Haldane worked for the Law Offices of Marjorie Roberts in the U.S. Virgin Islands where he assisted with matters... More »

Wyatt Boutwell is Vice President of Policy, Regulatory Affairs, and Campaigns. He brings a wealth of diverse onshore oil and gas experience to HBW Resources. Wyatt has a unique perspective on regulatory engagement which is informed by his rare combination of field experience and state/federal knowledge. Before joining HBW, Wyatt was CEO of Flint Ridge... More »

David Holt is HBW Resources Managing Partner and spearheads strategic counsel services to companies on government and industry initiatives. His areas of expertise include energy security, exploration and production, resource development, coalition management, advanced technologies, air quality and refining. He began his consulting practice in 2005, after serving as Hart Energy vice president of Government Affairs, Senior Legal and Energy Counsel to Texas Railroad Commission Chairman James E. Nugent, U.S. Department of State’s Public Affairs Office and Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. Holt has a J.D. from Howard University and a B.A. in History from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Texas and Houston Bar Associations.

Andrew Browning provides strategic counsel and consulting expertise to clients on unconventional shale energy development, Western lands oil shale, oil sands, arctic resources and offshore resources. With over 20 years of experience in both the private and government sectors, he was part of the founding of HBW Resources in 2008. Browning was previously Director of Government Relations at Methanex –the world’s largest methanol producer and distributor- and a White House appointee to the U.S. Department of Energy during the Clinton administration. He holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michael Whatley works with a wide range of companies and trade associations in the energy and transportation sectors helping them with policy making, communications and and strategic engagement with Congress, federal Departments and Agencies and State Governments. Whatley’s proven campaign and government expertise assist HBW’s clients to achieve their goals. Whatley previously served as Chief... More »

Brydon Ross leads HBW Resources state affairs policy group. Before joining HBW, he served as the director of energy and environmental policy for the Council of State Governments and as the Interim Executive Director of the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies. Ross worked in the private sector as the director of government relations for... More »

Michael Zehr joined HBW in 2011 as Vice President of Federal Affairs. Michael has over a decade of experience as a senior energy policy advisor in the U.S. Senate where he served on the staffs of four U.S. Senators, including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. A procedural and legislative strategist, Michael has specialized in... More »

Beth is Policy Director at HBW Resources where she provides support for the development of policy positions, stakeholder communications and marketing for the organization. Beth has eight years of experience as Manager, Energy & Environmental Policy at the Greater Houston Partnership where she led advocacy and education efforts aimed at communicating complex energy and environmental... More »

Billie Rae Gillas fulfills the role of Finance, Human Resources and Operations for HBW Resources. A longtime Alaskan, Billie Rae worked in the offshore seafood processing industry as a Professional in Human Resources for a succession of start-up corporations; Oceantrawl, Supreme Alaska Seafoods, Cold Sea Intl., and Atlantic Frost Seafoods. Taking her turn for the... More »

Emily Haggstrom serves as the Senior Director of Communications for HBW Resources. In addition to managing communications and branding for HBW, Emily is responsible for managing relationships with strategic clients and stakeholders for Consumer Energy Alliance. Prior to joining HBW, Emily was the Senior Manager of Media Relations for IHS, Inc. She also worked... More »

Ryan Scott is a senior policy director for HBW Resources. He works with his clients to better understand and achieve their goals by identifying risks to enterprise that exist outside of a company’s core operations. Scott has developed advocacy materials for his clients to engage with governments and conducts comprehensive assessments and analyses of non-technical... More »

Kathleen joined HBW Resources in 2007 as a Research & Policy Associate and currently manages Events and Special Projects for multiple clients. She coordinates meeting planning and content, logistics, marketing, communications, strategic partnerships, sponsorship generation and outreach for various HBW clients. She also directs all efforts for Houston’s annual Energy Day Festival with over 70... More »

Chris Ventura, State Affairs Director for HBW is based in Columbus, Ohio and also serves as the Executive Director for Consumer Energy Alliance- Midwest. Prior to joining HBW Resources, Ventura served as Senior Project Manager for the Ohio House of Representatives under Speaker William Batchelder. Ventura also served as Legislative Aide and Clerk of the... More »

Former U.S. Congressman Jimmy Hayes is the President and CEO of Washington Matters which represents a variety of clients seeking assistance with Congressional authorizing legislation in the fields of transportation, tax, energy and financial services. In 1987 Jimmy Hayes, a conservative Democrat was elected to Congress from Louisiana where founded the influential “Blue Dog Democrat”... More »

Ben Nelson has served the State of Nebraska as both a Governor and U.S. Senator. Over twenty years in public service has earned him a reputation as a moderate statesmen adept at building consensus among Republicans and Democrats as well unifying rural and urban communities. Ben Nelson started his career in insurance law. He served... More »

Tim Becker has more than 30 years experience in public policy and government, including Chief of Staff in the United States Senate for 12 years and Chief of Staff to the Governor of Nebraska for five of the eight years Ben Nelson served. Prior to his Congressional service, he served as Director of Government Relations... More »

John Northington is a seasoned energy industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience in various aspects of energy and its related fields—most recently as the founder, president, and principal owner of the Washington, D.C.-based government relations firm Northington Strategy Group. John has served on the National Petroleum Council since 2002. John served at... More »

Barry Rubin brings experience in both the private and public sectors, including managing political campaigns, serving as a state party executive director, state government official, and consultant to Fortune 500 companies. In 2008, Rubin founded Red State Strategies, LLC, a full-service issue management agency specializing in public affairs, political and issue campaign management. Rubin has... More »